M.S.A. §144.292

Patient Rights

When requested by the patient, the provider should supply the full medical record, including all information regarding treatment, diagnosis, and prognosis in language and terms that the patient can understand. 

A provider must give patients a written notice of the patient’s rights regarding access to his or her own medical records.  The notice must also explain disclosures of the patient’s medical information that can be made without the patient’s written consent, the types of records that can be disclosed and to whom.  The notice should also explain the right of the patient to have access to his or her medical records.  Providers may fulfill the notice requirement by posting the notice conspicuously or if the patient is provided with a patient’s bill of rights. 

Upon a patient’s written request, a provider must promptly furnish copies of the patient’s health record (including x-rays or laboratory tests) or pertinent part of the health record at a reasonable fee to the patient.  If the patient agrees, a summary of the patient’s record may also be provided. 

If a patient requests his or her medical record in order to review current medical care, the provider cannot charge a fee.  However, if a provider makes copies of the record pursuant to a patient’s or authorized representative’s request, the provider may charge no more than $.75 per page plus a maximum of $10 for the time in copying the records.  The provider cannot charge more than his own cost for copying x-rays.  No fee should be charged if the patient requests the record for appealing the denial of Social Security benefits. 

A provider may withhold a patient’s medical record if the provider reasonably determines that the record is detrimental to the physical or mental health of the patient or is likely to cause the patient to inflict harm onto himself or others.